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東京で雨
© ajpscs

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Decodaira, Asagimadara
デコ平のアサギマダラ

The chestnut tiger butterfly is beautiful! In Shizuoka, where I live, the Eupatorium fortunei flowers bloom in early October, and the chestnut tiger butterflies make a brief visit around that time.

アサギマダラ、綺麗ですね！私の住む静岡では10月上旬にフジバカマが咲き、そのタイミングでアサギマダラがちょっとだけ立ち寄ってくれます。

Kitashiobaramura, Fukushima pref, Japan

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東京で雨
© ajpscs

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東京で雨
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Akagawa fireworks festival
赤川花火大会

A jellyfish appeared in the night sky, it's a single large firework. Even Kamo Aquarium, also located in Tsuruoka City and famous for its jellyfish, must have been surprised.

夜空に浮かび上がったクラゲ、1発の尺玉です。同じ鶴岡市にあるクラゲで有名な加茂水族館もビックリですね。

Tsuruoka city, Yamagata pref, Japan

peaceful-jp-scenery posted a photo:

Decodaira, Asagimadara
デコ平のアサギマダラ

The chestnut tiger butterfly is beautiful! In Shizuoka, where I live, the Eupatorium fortunei flowers bloom in early October, and the chestnut tiger butterflies make a brief visit around that time.

アサギマダラ、綺麗ですね！私の住む静岡では10月上旬にフジバカマが咲き、そのタイミングでアサギマダラがちょっとだけ立ち寄ってくれます。

Kitashiobaramura, Fukushima pref, Japan

Welcome back to the Abstract! These are the studies this week that pottered around, ate well, shone bright, and went long in the tooth.

First, scientists identified a Bronze Age tradition of pottery as one of the earliest “brands,” revealing that humanity’s love for reliable commodities has deep roots. Then: a meal fit for a galaxy, a multi-camera view of the Sun, and a dizzying deep dive into a narwhal tusk. 

As always, for more of my work, check out my book First Contact: The Story of Our Obsession with Aliens, or subscribe to my personal newsletter the BeX Files. 

Brands are not brand new

Luciani, Marta et al. “Creating a brand. Genesis, transformation and diffusion of Qurayyah Painted Ware.” PLOS One.

Brands have completely taken over the modern world, from established corporate trademarks to the proliferation of online influencers. But the allure of brands is nothing new, according to a study about an ancient style of pottery called Qurayyah Painted Ware that was a progenitor of branding some 3,200 years ago.

This brand of pottery was popular in what is now Saudi Arabia during the Bronze Age. The tradition is distinguished by distinctive black-and-red geometric designs and stylized animal and human figures. These unique visual properties, along with a consistent production technique and quality, suggest that it was an early branded commodity that was made to be recognizable to the wider community.

“It is now understood that brands and proto-brands existed well before modern economies,” said researchers led by Marta Luciani of the University of Vienna. “In this contribution we analyze the process by which the commodity itself—decorated pottery vessels—was developed into a brand not by added symbols but on the virtue of its visual identity, material consistency, technological continuity, centralized production, export circulation, local imitation, intentional commercial scope, and cultural reputation.”

As such, the study “offers the first investigation of the dynamics leading to the genesis of a brand,” the team concluded.

Now, that’s a vintage brand. Who wants to do the sponsored endorsement on socials?

A low-energy snack for the Milky Way 

Massari, Davide et al. “Evidence of a massive accretion event 1.8 billion years before the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus merger.” Nature Astronomy.

Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, extends across 100,000 light years and contains hundreds of billions of stars. How did it get so swole? The answer is a healthy diet made up of smaller galaxies that the Milky Way has swallowed over time, adding to its starry heft. 

Now, scientists have identified the digested remains of a galaxy that served as cosmic baby food for the Milky Way during its infancy some 12 billion years ago. By studying stars at the center of the galaxy using the Hubble Space Telescope, the team was able to reconstruct this ancient merger between the Milky Way and a dwarf galaxy that has been gifted with the amazing name “Low-energy-Kraken-Heracles” (LKH) after its constituent parts.

“Our conclusions are strongly supported by cosmological simulations, which typically predict between one and four substantial mergers in the history of a Milky Way-like galaxy,” said researchers led by Davide Massari of the Observatory of Bologna. “The identification of a third merger event in the inner Galaxy puts to rest earlier debates and, honouring previous works, we name the progenitor system Low-energy-Kraken-Heracles, or LKH for short.”

The study explains the origins of a group of metal-poor stars in the galactic center suggesting that they are leftovers from the LKH galaxy, which was about as massive as 500 million Suns. This merger occurred before the engulfment of another fantastically-named galaxy, Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus, which occurred about 10 billion years ago and significantly influenced the Milky Way’s evolution.

It goes to show that you are what you eat (in this case, yummy primordial galaxies). 

The Sun goes ka-blowie

Luspay-Kuti, Adrienn et al. “The structure of a complex, asymmetric coronal mass ejection revealed by 17 spacecraft across the inner heliosphere.” Science Advances.

It’s time, once again, to pay tribute to the almighty Sun. Our star regularly barfs out enormous streams of solar plasma known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which radiate across the solar system and can wreak havoc on satellites and even ground infrastructure in some cases. 

But while these solar blowouts are common, their underlying mechanics are still poorly understood. Now, scientists report unprecedented observations of a CME that occurred in December 2024,  which was captured by 17 spacecraft. In particular, measurements from NASA’s Europa Clipper, which is on its way to study Jupiter’s icy ocean moon, revealed “a structure far more complex than could be inferred from single-point observations,” according to the study.

“This study demonstrates the power of coordinated multipoint observations to uncover the true complexity of CME evolution in the inner heliosphere,” said researchers led by 

Adrienn Luspay-Kuti of Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. “Such structure would not have been resolvable from Sun-Earth line observations alone. As human exploration extends toward Mars, such comprehensive heliospheric coverage will be critical for protecting spacecraft and crew.”

As if future crews to Mars don’t have enough to worry about, they’ll also have to take cover from projectile star vomit. At least the complex workings of CMEs are gradually becoming illuminated, though we may never fully understand these mercurial outbursts. 

Taking a tusk to task

Rodriguez-Palomo, Adrian et al. “The narwhal tusk assembles its macroscopic helix from building blocks with opposing twists.” Nature Communications.

Speaking of structures that get more complicated under close inspection, may I interest you in a narwhal’s tusk? These elegant elongated ornaments have inspired many myths and legends due to their unicorn-like appearance, and they have also enraptured scientists for generations. 

A team has now unraveled the mysterious layers of the narwhal tusk using advanced X-ray imaging techniques, which allowed them to resolve its structure on atomic, nano, and micro scales. The examination of the tusk confirmed that it consists of a left-facing helix, whereas another interior structure twists to the right. This mesh is sculpted with small deviations that mirror the iconic twisted spiral of the tusk.

“To finally solve the narwhal helical tusk puzzle, we combine multimodal imaging and multiscale orientation analysis, enabling accurate mapping of the tusk from the atomic to the macroscopic scale,” said researchers led by Adrian Rodriguez-Palomo of Aarhus University. 

“The structural anisotropy and the ensuing anisotropic mechanics mean that the tusk can grow straight, unlike, e.g., the curved elephant tusk, providing the narwhal with its majestic, evocative defining characteristic,” the team concluded. “The formation of such a structure remains unknown, as we lack crucial information on narwhal tusk growth and development.”

Shout out to all the aspiring narwhal scientists out there—looks like there’s more work to do.

Thanks for reading! See you next week.

Outcome of trial of a Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children may come down to witness testimony

The trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children in January 2023, will likely head to the jury next week to decide if she is guilty of murder or was suffering from postpartum psychosis and should not be held criminally responsible.

The outcome may come down to expert witness testimony – and there have been many – but the trial will be remembered for the spotlight it put on maternal health care in the United States. Defense lawyer Kevin Reddington has said that, in addition to postpartum psychosis, Clancy also had bipolar disorder and was overmedicated.

A man at a bank counter in a border town in northern India, tension in the air: how could any photographer resist?

Over the last decade, Lancashire-born, London-based Christine Rodgers has trekked in Bhutan, Nepal and the Indian states and regions of Uttarakhand, Ladakh and Sikkim. “I’ve developed something of a passion for the Himalayas,” she says. “I love being in the mountains; not climbing, but walking and camping at altitude, in sight of the wonderful range of peaks.”

Rodgers used to rely on her Olympus camera to take photographs on her trips, but has since switched predominantly to using her phone. “I love the immediacy,” she notes. “I did miss having a viewfinder at first, but I now feel completely at home with the screen.”

A66 remains closed near Middlesbrough after 14 ambulances attend scene early on Saturday morning

‘Multiple people’ have died in a collision involving a police vehicle near Middlesbrough.

A number of people were killed in the crash on the A66 in South Bank, North Yorkshire, in the early hours of Saturday morning, according to local authorities.

English translation of Élisabeth, the New Wave director’s 1946 book about young lovers in prewar Paris, receives rave reviews as precursor to auteur’s cinematic work

In the dog days of the second world war, 24-year-old Maurice Schérer wrote a tale of young lovers in prewar small-town France. He described lazy August swims in the Marne River east of Paris. He wrote about age-gap affairs and semi-incestuous flirtations. Schérer gallantly used a nom de plume, Gilbert Cordier, to shield his Catholic family from scandal, but he needn’t have bothered as his concerns were unfounded. The finished novel, Élisabeth, barely made a ripple and quickly slipped out of print. Undeterred, Scherer adopted a second pseudonym – Éric Rohmer – and decided to try his luck as a film-maker instead.

Now – eight decades on from its first publication, 16 years on from its author’s death – Élisabeth belatedly returns from the cold. Republished in an English-language translation by Aaron Kerner, Rohmer’s book has been greeted with glowing reviews, hailed as a lost modernist classic and a crucial origin story for the award-winning director of Claire’s Knee, The Green Ray and My Night at Maud’s. “It would be a rewarding, exciting read even if the identity of its author were unfamiliar,” wrote Richard Brody in the New Yorker. The fact that it’s by Rohmer? That’s the icing on the cake.

De dag begon vroeg voor Zandvoortgangers (ca. 100.000) want voor 12.00 uur moest iedereen al klaarzitten voor de sprintrace. Als u er inmiddels zit: bedank de NS. Kunt u zich nu volledig richten op de baan, met oranje aan, Maxpet op, lunchbroodje met knakworst in de ene hand, beginbiertje in de andere. Of veilig en goedkoop thuis op de bank uiteraard. Alle racefans weten dat dit seizoen niet het leukste seizoen is omdat de regels de bolides hebben gecastreerd, maar er waren toch wat lichtpuntjes met het ontketende talent Antonelli en aardig wat spanning vooraan. Nu mag ook het Nederlandse publiek daar LIVE van genieten. Jammer dat Koorts Russell gisteren een goede dag had, maar gelukkig wordt die vandaag op zeker gepasseerd door Norris en Leclerc. Daarom voorspellen we Stijlloos dat Norris de sprint wint. Verstappen rijdt lekker door naar P4 en de rest zien we wel weer. En als iedereen op een gegeven moment lekker lam is gaan we nog even kwalificeren voor de race van morgen (om 16.00 uur hieronder te volgen). De zon schijnt, de vlaggen wapperen, het zand stuift op en Viaplay is graties op deze heerlijke Zandvoort-Zaterdag.
Update 11:55 - Vijf in de klok: BIER.
Update 12:00 - Een volledig Spaanse pitlane-start.
Update 12:04 - Jaaaa Max pakt weer binnenkant kombocht, levert NIKS op maar toch!
Update 12:09 - Top 4 binnen 2 seconden.
Update 12:17 - Gelukkig ook tijdens de sprintrace Viaplay-reclame.
Update 12:19 - In de reclame is Verstappen naar de staart van Piastri gereden.

ACH, het zal ook eens niet

SFEERTJE

ZANDVOORT (ANP) - De tribunes rond het circuit van Zandvoort stromen zaterdag vol voor de eerste sprintrace ooit in de Formule 1 in Nederland. Maximaal 105.000 racefans zullen de Brit George Russell om 12.00 uur van poleposition zien vertrekken. Max Verstappen vertrekt van de zesde positie.

De Dutch Grand Prix staat dit jaar voor de laatste keer op de Formule 1-kalender. De zaterdag en zondag zijn al enige tijd volledig uitverkocht. Na de sprintrace staat op zaterdagmiddag de kwalificatie voor de race van zondag op het programma. De GP van Zandvoort begint om 15.00 uur.